Naruto: Infinity Divide
Spies Among Us
Blanket disclaimer: I do not own Naruto or Star Trek
AUTHOR'S NOTE:
This chapter we see some serious combat. Enjoy!
Port = Left
Starboard = Right
[ ] Signifies a foreign language
Last time:
Admiral Tristan was in her office looking over the records for the three cadets and stopped on Naruto's. She thought aloud, "Conceived on Tori Prime IV. Born on Vulcan. A graduate of the Vulcan Science Academy with two full doctorates. So, this is T'Ara's son."
Tristan read about his Starfleet career. 'He's received a personal Commendation from Admiral Pye for beating the Kobayashi Maru and a further Group Commendation from Pye with his fellow Fast Track Students for developing the simulator shuttle prototype. He's also been nominated for the Cochrane Medal of Excellence by Admiral Tolm for Excellence in advancing warp architecture. He doesn't even know about that yet but he's basically a shoo-in for the award. Yes, he's T'Ara's boy all right. I'd never have guessed back when we were on the U.S.S. Republic together that T'Ara's unborn son would end up being a genius like her…'
"Computer, what is Cadet Naruto studying at his computer station right now?" asked the Admiral.
The computer said, "Working…Cadet Naruto is currently studying Starfleet Law and Court Martial Proceedings regarding treason Articles I through XX. He is on page 117 of Article VII."
Sheila Tristan laughed and remembered her Chief Science Officer T'Ara always studying things just because of her love of knowledge. "Like Mother like son…"
…
Chapter 24
Stardate 2272.299, Saturn Station One, Crew living area
A lovely young Vulcan Lieutenant Junior Grade named Alieth was reading her orders after sending a coded query out of the system.
'If you can't retrieve the target then eliminate the loose ends. If that proves impossible then escape and return home.'
She nodded and deleted the coded message from her receiver. Alieth checked her equipment including her combat knife. Sighing she thought to herself, 'It's time to go.'
…
Samui's Secured Quarters, Deck 21
Samui was getting ready to shower. She was barefoot and had her body wash in hand. She was getting ready to take her gold-colored top off when her door unlocked and a female Vulcan security officer entered with a drawn phaser in hand. Samui looked shocked as the door closed and locked behind the security guard. The red shirted female said, "You are in the way cadet." She fired her phaser on stun and Samui collapsed in a heap on the floor. The guard thought aloud, "That was simple." She pulled an unusual, concealed combat knife and thought, 'Now to slit her throat and complete the job…'
As the security guard reached for the beautiful blonde's shoulder to get to her neck, Samui suddenly lashed out with a kick that caught the guard completely unawares. Augments are much more resistant to damage and Samui was able to shrug off a simple stun. She'd been playing possum. The guard hit the wall hard which sent her weapons flying across the room. When she got up the red shirted female saw Samui was already in a karate stance and hit the Vulcan woman with the strength of a charging rhino.
The guard felt her ribs shatter and she coughed up a gout of green blood as she crashed into and then through the doors to Samui's quarters. The augment girl pounced on the downed guard in the hall and punched her hard enough in the jaw to shatter it. The guard gasped and then gurgled out something before her head rolled to the side. The Vulcan woman was dead…
…
Naruto's Quarters
Naruto was sitting at his desk when the door opened behind him, and a human security guard threw a combat knife at the blonde Vulcan's back. To the guard's disbelief he saw Naruto spin around in his chair and catch the knife midair between his right index finger and middle finger. Then Naruto vanished. The guard went for his phaser only to hear Naruto's voice behind him say in a whisper, "Never fight a Shinobi." The guard felt Naruto's hand grip his throat and slit his trachea with his own knife causing blood to fly everywhere –green blood…
The blonde Vulcan body flickered away as the guard's carcass hit the floor with a thump. Two other guards (a male and female human) opened the door and saw their comrade was dead. There was no sign of Naruto. All they saw was the body of the dead guard in a pool of his own blood. They drew their phasers and the female whispered, "Where is the damned Vulcan boy?" She motioned to her comrade to stay still and took a step into the room she looked around and saw nothing of Naruto…
Her comrade let out a hissing noise and she said "Stay at the door. The only place he could be hiding is in the-" she felt her head grabbed from above as her neck was snapped like a twig. Her shocked eyes widened as her body crumpled to the floor and saw Naruto stuck to the ceiling above her with chakra. Naruto said, "Too bad you neither looked up Romulan…" She saw what looked like a duplicate of the blonde over her partner's body puff into smoke.
The blonde Vulcan hit the floor silently and searched the three bodies. He found each of them had a standard Type I handheld phaser and a combat knife of foreign (probably Romulan) origin. Naruto armed himself with the three knives and two phasers set on stun. That's when he heard a crash and a voice cry out from the direction of Samui's room. Naruto slipped down the hall silently and saw another 'human' male cradling a compound fracture of his thigh bone. The man was obviously dizzy with pain and green blood loss.
Naruto gripped the man's mouth from behind and kicked his wound viciously causing the male to scream into the blonde's palm that muffled any sound. Naruto whispered emotionlessly in the Romulan's ear, "I'll kick the bone again if you don't tell me how many of you there are Romulan."
The man nodded frantically, and Naruto pulled his hand away. The Romulan whispered "N-n-nine of us on this level."
"How many others?" asked Naruto. The Romulan started foaming at the mouth and went limp. Naruto thought, 'Self-destruct. Must be a fast-acting poison.' He heard phaser fire down the hall behind him in the direction of Rafi's room. Naruto considered backtracking but decided to find Samui first given he was almost there.
The blonde laid the Romulan down in silence and went down the hall to Samui's room where he saw the dead 'Vulcan' female guard and the metal doors ripped out of their tracks. He saw another guard down with a massive slash wound across his abdomen. The knife was still in the man, and he too was foaming at the mouth from poison. Naruto pulled the knife out of the carcass and wiped it clean on the dead man's shirt. He heard someone coming and saw Samui come around the corner. The Augment girl was PISSED. She was carrying another knife and muttered to herself, "Who else wants their head kicked in?" She saw Naruto and said, "How many-?"
Naruto put his finger to her lips and whispered, "Silently now; we are dealing with Romulans." When she nodded, he took his finger away. "There are nine of them on this floor. Six are dead. We need to save Rafi; she can't fight like us." Samui flinched a bit as he handed her a phaser. He asked, "Are you hurt Samui?"
"I'm fine; just a little roughed up." She showed him her hand was cut and bruised. The blonde augment girl said with a smile. "Let's go."
Naruto now had four knives in makeshift holster on his thigh. "I'll take point." said the blonde Vulcan.
"Cool." whispered Samui. Naruto glanced back and saw the blonde augment giving him her minimal smile as she motioned him to lead on.
Naruto raised an eyebrow and thought 'I fail to see anything that would qualify by her definition of cool at this point.' The pair crept down the hall to Rafi's room where there had obviously been a phaser shoot out. Naruto saw a 'human' dead by a phaser shot into his forehead showing his blood was green too. There was multiple phaser burn marks on the wall where he'd been standing. The dead man's foot was lodged in the doorway leaving it wide open. Naruto checked for vitals just in case and felt there were none.
Samui whispered, "Cool. Rafi's an even better shot with a phaser than I thought she was."
That's when they heard soft crying from within Rafi's room. Samui waved in the doorway and a blue phaser beam nearly took her hand off. Samui said, "Rafi, it's me; Samui!"
Rafi said in a broken voice, "Samui? Y-you're alive?"
The blonde augment waved again and asked, "Can I come in? Naruto is with me."
The Trill girl said, "Come in." in a soft tone. When she saw it really was Samui, Rafi lowered her phaser and said, "I k-killed!" and burst into fresh tears.
Samui came in and hugged her Trill roommate to soothe the distressed girl. Naruto pulled the body away from the door and it closed with a soft hiss.
'Clearly Samui is handling the situation well, but Rafi is in a state of shock.' thought Naruto. 'There are still two Romulans out their somewhere.' The blonde Vulcan hit the comm switch on the wall to contact Security and found it was inactive. 'Do I try to hunt down the remaining Romulans or stay with Rafi and Samui?' he wondered. Making the decision to stay Naruto made four shadow clones sweep the area. His clones found nothing but verified that all the comm links were all dead. "If Rafi fired her phaser on kill then it should have triggered alarms, are the sensors on this deck dead too…?" Naruto stepped back out in the hall in a guard position.
That was when Security chief Bantam came out of the turbolift with three other security guards and saw Naruto aiming a phaser at him. Bantam said, "Stand down Cadet; the station is in lockdown."
Naruto lowered his phaser and said, "There were nine Romulans on this deck and seven are dead."
Bantam nodded and said, "Those two escaped via the turbolift. The Romulans are being pursued. Are any of the other cadets still alive?"
Naruto said, "We are all three alive."
The Security Chief got out his communicator out and said, "Bantam to central Control, we are sweeping deck 21. The Cadets are alive. I repeat; the Cadets are alive."
…
Two hours later the three Cadets were up on Deck 14 which was considered a shelter. Rafi had calmed down somewhat but was still distressed. The rest of the Think Tank was there as well and were quietly speaking among themselves. They saw the red alert light switch over to condition yellow and relaxed a little.
…
Admiral Tristan's Office, Deck 1
Sheila Tristan was livid. Years of command experience had her in control of herself, however. "I transfer in a month ago and now I find out there are bloody Romulans in my station! What's worse is MacDougal has overseen personnel for years. I've known him for decades and completely trusted him." She growled, "Heads are going to roll." Security and the Marines were out sweeping the station for infiltrators. The various shootouts on Saturn Station One had ceased and an attempt was made to steal the Simulator Shuttle in bay 0106 was made by the interlopers. They failed spectacularly because Bantam had three times the normal guard compliment guarding the shuttle with phaser rifles.
MacDougal finally broke under interrogation and revealed there were twenty-four Romulans on the base. Security had accounted for all of them but one who was the main contact of MacDougal's. She was still loose and was in the guise of a Vulcan Lieutenant named Alieth. Security soon had verification that she'd taken a long-range shuttle out before the station was locked down. "Shit." said Bantam. "One of them escaped us. There is no telling what information she stole." Lieutenant Alieth aside; Security was checking the personal quarters of the infiltrators for bomb or any other form of sabotage.
Starfleet Intelligence was already being mobilized to get the disaster under control. They were going through MacDougal's personal files with a fine-toothed comb. Admiral Tristan had already initiated mandatory DNA and retina scans of everyone in the station. She was the first to be tested voluntarily. The command staff was next and everyone in MacDougal's entire department was under suspicion. All the shuttle trainees were low on the list, and it took three days to process all of them. The paranoia in the air was so thick that you could cut it with a knife. All outside communications were blacked out.
…
Admiral Tristan looked over the reports once all the DNA testing was completed and was pleased that everyone was accounted for after the initial panic though fourteen personnel died at the hands of the Romulans during the fighting. Losing any personnel was too many but it could have been much worse. There was no evidence that the Romulans committed any sabotage. That left the question of exactly what the Romulans were doing there to begin with. They weren't there to steal the Simulator Shuttle prototype originally because it hadn't even been invented yet…Tristan figured that was a simple target of opportunity. "Espionage isn't my game but something doesn't add up here…" thought the Admiral aloud.
…
"Personal Log of Samui Schrodinger: Stardate 2272.306. Except for Naruto, Rafi and I everyone has passed their shuttle training. The three of us have passed all the bookwork and are simply awaiting a time when we can return to flight duty to complete our training."
"On a personal note, I really don't like blood on my hands even if it was to save my own life. I was trained as a child to kill, when necessary, but it's given me nightmares. Rafi is still a mess and Naruto is…Naruto. He informed me that he had to kill before and that the guilt will numb eventually. I'm still seeing counselor regardless."
"Saturn Station One has become a hotbed of conspiracy theories about the Romulans and Captain MacDougal. Security is crawling all over the place. I want to return to Earth but Starfleet Intelligence has the three of us in proverbial limbo given how big the situation has grown. I can't wait for it all to be over…"
…
Judge Advocate General's Office, Deck 1
Lieutenant Commander Amanda 'Amy' Collins was in contact with JAG Headquarters on Earth. She was on a triple encrypted frequency. "I'm telling you this could be huge Admiral Obes." said Collins. "Starfleet Intelligence is already in Captain MacDougal's Office looking through his data for co-conspirators. They are also trying to find out how twenty-four Romulan infiltrated this base. They were all registered as Starfleet personnel so somebody inside let them in. Admiral Sheila Tristan came in long after they were in place. Her predecessor Admiral Roger Capek may know something about it all, but he's retired and I have no way of tracking him."
On her viewscreen was the Andorian Admiral Obes. He was a long serving JAG Commander and was a strict taskmaster. "Leave tracking Admiral Capek to us Commander Collins. You are getting ahead of yourself. This is Starfleet Intelligence territory we are dealing with now; not just a Court Martial of a Captain gone rogue. If the Romulans have managed to infiltrate our capital system, then there will be a massive shakedown in High Command. Trust me. Keep your head low and stay in your boundaries. If Starfleet Intelligence asks for your cooperation, then by all means give it to them. JAG can't solve this alone."
After Admiral Obes signed off, he thought to himself, 'I wonder if Section 31*① has their fingers in this. Poor Collins is stuck in the eye of a storm.'
…
Commander Collins saw her viewscreen go blank and leaned back in her chair. "Keep my head low and stay in my boundaries." she muttered to herself. Collins went through the files she had access to. 'Lieutenant Alieth or whoever she really is was on Captain MacDougal's staff for the last three years in a liaison position. Her last quarterly medical physical was two years ago and the others since have been repeatedly waived by Captain MacDougal. The Medical Staff filed complaints to Admiral Capek, but the Admiral never did anything about it. That pretty much means MacDougal knowingly had a Romulan on his staff for approximately two years…It also means that the real Lieutenant Alieth has most likely been dead for two years…'
'God only knows about the other twenty-three spies that died or who they may have taken place of.' thought Commander Collins. 'I can't conclusively say they all came in under MacDougal's aegis, but he knew there were twenty-four of them…I don't have the evidence on them just yet because Starfleet Intelligence has taken over though. I guess I'll simply have to focus on MacDougal.' Amy Collins sighed. "I know it's not the fault of Admiral Tristan, but this breach of security is going to look bad on her record as well. Nearly 5,000 people live and work at this station and security needs to be tightened up."
…
"Personal Log of Naruto M'Fau: Stardate 2272.309. It's been ten days since we were attacked, and many Starfleet Intelligence Officers have been inspecting Saturn Station One. I have been questioned seven times now and have repeatedly had to explain why I was able to defeat three Romulans without being injured in return. I explained to them that I am a 4th Level Master of Kareel-ifla and a 2nd level Master of V'shan. The last Officer one was familiar with those martial arts and visibly cringed when I explained the situation to him. He informed me that I wouldn't be questioned again about the matter."
"My friend Samui likewise has had to explain she has an eighth level black belt in karate and was proficient with both knives and fencing. My other friend Rafi is doing much better than she was a week ago and is returning to her normal self. She is very frustrated that we cannot return to flight duty yet. Rafi said she was going 'Stir crazy.' Once I looked that phrase up, I added it to my mental list of human idioms although a Trill using human slang phrases seems unusual to me."
"We three were called into Commander Collins' Office for further questions regarding Captain MacDougal. She didn't divulge any information to us about the case, but she did indicate that the Court Martial would be taking place within the next month if all went well. She explained that we would be required to testify at the hearing, but we would be released to return to Earth along with the rest of the Think Tank. It is possible to receive a shuttle piloting certification on Earth and Rafi, Samui and I intend to do so."
…
The Think Tank Cadets were sent back to Earth the next day to resume their normal training schedule. They were informed that all the happenings on Saturn Station One were considered classified and they were not to be discussed. Naruto, Samui and Rafi were under a silence order and were told that they would be notified when it was time to appear at the Court Martial. Starfleet Intelligence informed them they were to remain silent as well…
Naruto was soon on a transport back to Starfleet Academy when he decided to contact T'Lyra and inform her he was all right. Seeing her face on the tablet lifted a huge weight off his soul and although he couldn't say anything of what happened other than it was classified; he felt things were right again…
…
Stardate 2272.310, Utopia Planitia Fleet Yards, Orbital Shipyards, Planet Mars, FRD-15, U.S.S. Darwin
Brea Mathuin was coming out of the shower in her room on FRD-15 and she saw her roommate T'Lyra was in a peaceful pose reading the Darwin's schematics on her tablet. Brea smiled and asked, "Was that your husband that called earlier T'Lyra? You look a lot more relaxed than you have all week."
T'Lyra looked at her friend and said, "You know me well. Yes, that was Naruto I was speaking to. He is well but said that the reason behind the communications blackout at Saturn Station was classified."
The dark-haired Irish girl said, "I'll bet it's a huge, scandalous Starfleet secret! The truth may never known."
The brunette Vulcan girl said, "While your speculation is highly illogical it is probable that we will never be informed. I inferred from Naruto's words that it was something he will never be able to discuss."
Brea shrugged. "It's better to not ask then. Besides, we have much bigger news! The Darwin's exterior hull is finally airtight again which means we can work without those bloody spacesuits!"
"It certainly is a milestone to use a human phrase." said T'Lyra agreeably.
"So, are you coming to the party to celebrate?" asked Brea. "The guys want to hear you sing and play that Vulcan harp of yours."
"I'll have to tune my ka'athyra then." said T'Lyra as she set down her tablet and opened her locker under her bunk. She slid the ornate case for her musical instrument out and soon had ka'athyra in hand and was gently tuning it string by string…
"Less than two months until the U.S.S Darwin rejoins the fleet eh T'Lyra?" asked the Irish girl.
T'Lyra nodded. "Indeed. We are seeing more and more assigned regular crew every day to help with the fitting out process."
"It's a shame that they don't know squat about the construction process." griped Brea. "We know this ship inside and out."
Gently strumming her harp and tuning another string the young Vulcan woman said, "We all have specialties Brea. Constructing a ship is ours; operating a ship is theirs."
Brea laid back on her bunk and listened to T'Lyra tune her ka'athyra. "So, do you think you'll get the Starfleet Medal of Valor? You deserve it for what you and Lieutenant Nadeshiko did. You both do."
"It is not a matter of great concern to me." said T'Lyra. "We did the logical thing and saved the lives of many. Being nominated for such an award is an honor in itself."
"I bet Lieutenant Nadeshiko thinks otherwise. She's probably foaming at the mouth." said the Irish girl with a chuckle. "You two may both be Vulcan but you couldn't be more different."
T'Lyra stopped tuning for a moment and said, "We are in total agreement on that point."
Brea just laughed…
…
Saturn Station One, Judge Advocate General's Office
Commander Amanda Collins was surprised that Starfleet Intelligence was willing to help her with her investigation of MacDougal. It made her suspicious. The Official Statement was they 'Wanted this to be an open and shut case solely on MacDougal's head.' The JAG Officer found that the evidence compiled both by her and Starfleet Intel would probably be enough for life imprisonment of the man. Collins wondered about several people in MacDougal's department being transferred out without apparent reason, but she had no way to track their destinations.
'Keep my head low and stay in my boundaries.' she thought, repeating Admiral Obes's orders. 'Ugh. I hate having my hands tied but I'll have to accept it. I'm basically in the same boat as those three Cadets.' Collins set about making her case against MacDougal to the best of her ability. 'I may as well go for the jugular. With the evidence involved you're damned if you do and damned if you don't Captain Anthony MacDougal.'
…
Stardate 2272.323, Starbase 1, Geosynchronous Orbit over Starfleet Headquarters, Planet Earth, Courtroom
"We will now begin the proceedings of the Court Martial of Captain Anthony MacDougal." said the Baliff.
Lieutenant Commander Amanda Collins opened her case with a statement: "Captain Anthony MacDougal, you stand accused of Violations of the Starfleet Security and Secrecy regulations surrounding Black Ops projects; Conspiring with enemies of the United Federation of Planets and Treason of the highest order. How do you plead?"
MacDougal simply said, "Not guilty." If anyone was surprised, then they didn't show it.
Collins thought to herself, 'Fine. If I have to pull teeth one by one that's what I'll do.'
The three Cadets were in various states of nervousness. They were in their dress uniforms and were told by Commander Collins to "Listen for your turn and otherwise keep your mouths shut."
Naruto had read up on the court procedures but was a bit baffled by the actual event. The heaviness in the air was a palpable thing.
For her part Rafi was looking about nervously and saw even the Enlisted personnel on the jury had a dozen medals apiece. It was obvious these people had been in Starfleet for decades. 'What a day to be sober…' thought the Trill girl miserably.
'I wish this was all over.' thought Samui. The beautiful Augment girl was feeling a bit intimidated by Rear Admiral Palmer who was judging. The female human Admiral had a face as cold and hard as stone. The jurors all looked like they'd seen it all and were impassive.
The hologram of MacDougal trying to get the Cadets to repair the Simulator Shuttle was soon shown and the authenticity of that evidence was soon called into question by the defense. That led to an entire series of questions that had little to do with MacDougal. Ultimately an encryption/decryption specialist brought in by the defense agreed that "The holographic record is genuine and not fabricated in any way."
Naruto watched as Collins and the Defense Lawyer argued back and forth on the tiniest details as if they were what the Court Martial was about instead of MacDougal. He noted it was much like Terran fencing.
Samui was the first called up and her judgment was questioned because of her Augment background.
Rafi wanted to jump to Samui's defense, but Naruto grabbed the Trill girl's wrist and calmed her with a glance. He mouthed, 'Samui can handle it.'
The Trill Cadet was questioned next. When her background was questioned Rafi said flippantly to the Defense Lawyer, "I hold a full Doctoral Degree in Astronavigation Summa Cum Laude!*②" Translated loosely the Trill girl was saying, 'Who the hell are you to judge me?' Though nobody knew it, the stone faced Judge Rear Admiral Palmer found the Trill to be quite amusing.
The Defense Lawyer looked steamed at Rafi but kept his composure. He looked over at Naruto and noticed once again that the blue-eyed Vulcan was staring at him with extreme scrutiny. He sighed and thought, 'Arguing with a Vulcan is pointless.'
When Commander Collins had Naruto give his statement the Defense simply said, "No further questions." when he was given the opportunity to cross examine Naruto.
…
Stardate 2272.324 Courtroom
"…And these records show you waived the Romulan agent using Lieutenant Alieth's identity from medical examinations!" roared Collins. "Why would you do this Captain MacDougal? Explain this to the jurors."
Naruto watched as Commander Collins practiced her craft and couldn't help but be impressed. 'She's turned this from fencing to a siege situation. It's only a matter of time before MacDougal runs out of resources.'
'She's crushed his defense now.' thought Samui. 'Cool. When he tried to plea bargain out she denied him completely.'
Rafi was mentally cheering at the pale look on Captain MacDougal's face. 'How long till he cracks and we can all go home?'
"…You admitted to knowing how many Romulan Agents there were on the base! How did that come to pass?" asked Commander Collins.
…
Rear Admiral Palmer banged her gavel after she looked at the verdict from the jurors. It had been a long two-day process. "The defendant is found guilty on all counts. Captain Anthony MacDougal, stand for your sentencing."
MacDougal stood looking more dead than alive. He never had explained his actions. He planned to take that information to his grave…
Admiral Palmer gave MacDougal a hard glare that made him cringe. "Your sentence is life imprisonment in the Starfleet Stockade on Jaros II*③ where you will have plenty of time to reflect upon your actions. The sentence is to be carried out immediately. Take him away."
Anthony MacDougal lowered his head and said nothing as the guards placed restraining cuffs upon him and escorted him out of the courtroom. 'I wonder whatever happened to Alieth.' he pondered…
…
Stardate 2272.330, Federation/Romulan Neutral Zone, Icarus System
The light freighter S.S. Vikrant was taking an illegal cargo into the Federation/Romulan Neutral Zone. They'd been paid extremely well to risk a little trip into the Neutral Zone. Their cargo was a Vulcan defector named Alieth. The Captain said, "We're here Miss Alieth; the Icarus system. Just as you requested, we're in the orbit of the lifeless rock Icarus IV. What now?"
Alieth gave the Captain a datacard and said, "Transmit these codes at a short transmission range only and my ride will show up."
The Captain shrugged and said, "Whatever you say Miss Alieth." He slid the datacard in the slot and transmitted the codes as she requested.
"Now we wait." she said as he handed her back the datacard.
A second later the Romulan frigate RIS Scimitar uncloaked directly in front of them. The Captain gasped and Alieth got out a Romulan communicator. She said, [One to beam up.] in perfect Romulan. She quickly disappeared in a shimmering transporter beam. The codes that Alieth was safely aboard the frigate came through seconds later which made the crew of the Vikrant finally relax.
The Romulan frigate then fired her plasma torpedoes at point blank range and the Vikrant ceased to exist. Seconds later the RIS Scimitar faded out under cloak.
…
Bridge, RIS Scimitar
Kurenai was watching the viewscreen impassively from her command chair as the last sparks and fragments of the hapless Vikrant burned into dust over Icarus IV. She noted absentmindedly, "I despise smugglers." The doors to the bridge opened and Kurenai turned her chair to face the newcomer Alieth. She smiled and said, "Welcome aboard the Scimitar Tal Shiar Major Anko. It's good to see you again old friend."
Anko's light brown eyes seemed to glint in the low light of the ship's bridge. She grinned mischievously. "It's good to see you again as well Subcommander Kurenai."
The frigate Scimitar soon headed smoothly back into Romulan space…
…
POSTSCRIPT:
*① Section 31: Section 31 is the name of an officially nonexistent and autonomous clandestine organization which claims to protect the security interests of the United Federation of Planets. Loosely speaking, it is Starfleet's black-ops division, operating separately from and usually without the knowledge of Starfleet Intelligence. Section 31 was also somewhat comparable to the Romulan Tal Shiar but unlike that organization Section 31's very existence was a deeply buried secret, known only to a handful of people beyond its own membership.
*② Summa Cum Laude: 'With highest praise.' Used in diplomas to grant the highest of three special honors for grades above the average. (3.9-4.0 Grade Point Average).
*③ Jaros II: A Federation planet in the Jaros star system, the site of a Starfleet Stockade. The planet is marginally Class M with a hot, dry climate. The stockade and surrounding area are protected by a powerful transporter inhibition field that prevents beaming people to or from the planet. The facility has no walls or guard towers but even if a detainee avoided being stunned by a guard or a droid the planet was devoid of other settlements and there were no sources of water nearby, making escape an unattractive prospect to most inmates.
This chapter was a bit odd to write as I knew what I wanted to do but didn't know how to go about it. The Court Martial I pretty much broke up into small pieces to make it a bit more digestible. I originally was going to write it out in greater detail but with all the conspiracy, attempted murder and other fun things going on the Court Martial needed to be shortened. As for the Romulans, a lot of fun is going to happen in the Neutral Zone in the future. See you next time. Blue out. 9/23/23